farmer based in Somerset in the UK once noticed parcels, like ones he had seen in movies, in animal feed that arrived there from Colombia.
This led to him inadvertently playing a key role in the unravelling of a narcotrafficking network involving crooks who use shell companies, fake names, and ships to smuggle drugs into the UK from various countries, South Africa included.
nvestigations into the syndicate started in the UK in April 2022 and recently culminated in the jailing of two smugglers there.
Anand Tripathi, 61, who ran an export and import company, and Varun Bhardwaj, 39, who worked with him, were sentenced to 15 and 19 years in jail respectively in mid-December last year.
They had faced various charges in connection with drug crimes, some linked to South Africa — via citrus fruit.
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